Dr. Navya Vikraman Nair (she/her) is a transdisciplinary sustainability scholar whose research focuses on environmental governance, social-ecological systems, climate adaptation, and community-centered sustainability. She is a research associate at Vulnerability to Viability Global Partnership Project, Canada. She also holds postdoctoral researcher positions at the University of Victoria and Dalhousie University, where she works on groundwater resilience, wildfire adaptation, blue carbon ecosystems, community-led coastal restoration, and social-ecological resilience pathways across Canada and internationally.
Navya completed her PhD in Sustainability Management (Water) at the University of Waterloo. Her doctoral research examined the relationships among blue carbon ecosystems, water quality, small-scale fisheries, and coastal governance through participatory and community-based approaches in India. Drawing on training in engineering, sustainability science, and interdisciplinary environmental research, she integrates ecological understanding with governance, justice, and qualitative social science perspectives.
Her current work explores how governance systems, knowledge systems, and collective action can support equitable sustainability transformations in response to climate and environmental change. She is actively involved in collaborative research and policy initiatives across Canada, Europe, and South Asia, with interests in environmental governance, sustainability transitions, Indigenous and local knowledge systems, climate adaptation, ocean and water governance, environmental justice, and community-led stewardship.